So we can take a moment first of all to just get comfortable,
We can be sitting,
We could be lying down in the Shavasana,
Whatever seems most comfortable for you right now.
If you're sitting,
I know for me sometimes it can be helpful just to sway slightly side to side to begin with,
Back and forth,
Just to find that central point in which the back is naturally supported,
Everything seems balanced and comfortable.
Then I invite you,
As we often do,
To allow your awareness to descend down into the body,
Start to become aware of the space of the body,
Bring your awareness right down to the ground where your body is in contact with your chair,
Your cushion,
The floor,
Wherever you are.
Just notice and witness those sensations that feel firm and solid.
As we just rest here for a moment,
We might like to take a moment to arouse our most meaningful motivation for this practice,
For this time gathering together,
And then letting the awareness permeate the entire field of the body,
Becoming aware of all the sensations from the top of the head down to the soles of the feet,
And setting the body at ease,
Intentionally letting any tension,
Any tightness just melt away,
Particularly with the out-breath.
Just soften the muscles around the forehead,
The eyebrows,
And the eyes,
See that you're not frowning,
Relaxing around the mouth and the jaws,
You're not overly clenching,
Tightening,
Releasing any tension you might be holding through the neck and the shoulders,
Let the shoulders drop away from the ears,
Relax your arms and your hands,
And relax through the torso,
Through the legs and the feet,
And I invite you to let your body be still right now.
Avoid any unnecessary movement,
Any fidgeting,
Itching,
Let your body come to rest,
Comfortable,
Still,
At ease.
In the stillness of this moment,
Start to become aware of the various sensations taking place in the body that are correlated with the in-breath and the out-breath.
In this particular approach,
We're paying attention to the whole body as it breathes,
So the sensations may be most noticeable in the torso,
Particularly the abdomen and the chest,
But can you notice the resonance in the arms and the legs?
Perhaps you're aware of the sensations of air,
The nostrils or the mouth.
In a very relaxed way,
Very much at ease,
We're not looking for perfection here,
But just let your mind be consumed by this very gentle,
Urban flow that is sometimes short,
Sometimes shallow,
Other times long,
Sometimes deep.
We don't need to worry about the rhythm,
We can let the rhythm be exactly how it is.
No need to intervene,
Simply witness.
And of course your mind will wander,
That's okay,
That's to be expected,
That doesn't mean we've failed.
Our job really is to notice when we become distracted.
And then to gently release that distraction,
Relax a little bit more in the body,
Be more at ease,
Loosen up,
Then guide our attention back to the ebb and flow of the breath.
So getting distracted does not constitute a failure,
However perhaps not noticing over time,
Letting our mind ramble on,
Now that is not the practice.
So try to be aware,
Try to notice when your mind becomes distracted,
Gently guide your mind back,
But not with frustration,
Not with annoyance,
With a sense of ease,
Kindness.
Sometimes to help us maintain attention it can be helpful to count the breaths,
One count for each round of respiration.
So we could count at the end of every in-breath,
Very succinctly,
Like a punctuation mark.
And you might like to count the breaths one to seven,
One to seven.
And if you do lose count that's okay,
Just go straight back to number one.
We can use the counting to really help us break down this practice.
Meditation here is not about counting the breath for the next ten minutes,
It's about just being aware of this next one breath.
The job is always the same,
Just this next breath,
This breath,
Here,
Now.
And in one minute,
Five minutes,
However long,
The job will always be the same,
This breath now.
And over time in this practice try to find the balance between becoming more and more at ease,
More relaxed,
Both in the body but also in the mind.
Loose,
Not uptight.
Balancing that with an increasing sense of alertness,
A sharpness of your mind,
You're not becoming dull or sleepy.
You're very alert,
Very aware.
It's in that balance that we find the sense of flow in practice.
